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For years, people have gone to great lengths to convince themselves that pizza isn’t actually as bad for you as reality would dictate. I’ve spent years trying to convince myself that from an objective standpoint, it’s actually a pretty well-rounded meal— you’ve got your dairy, your carbs, and even a serving of vegetables. Unfortunately, all of that is negated when you devour two or three slices in a single sitting, but that hasn’t stopped me from continuing to lie to myself.
It seems like scientists are announcing the discovery of a new “superfood” on a weekly basis, but we might be entering an era where you don’t have to rely on kale, quinoa, and açaí berries to get the nutrients you’re supposed to. However, the world is changing, and pizza might be changing along with it. According to one nutritionist, everyone’s favorite portable meal might actually be the superfood of the future, because the future is a magical, magical place.
Dan Schmitz is an executive at Abbott Laboratories who is in charge of the research and development of “therapeutic foods.” Currently, most of these foods come in the form of replacement meals like protein bars or the misguidedly named Soylent, but in an interview with Business Insider, Schmitz said it’s only a matter of time before traditionally unhealthy foods become a viable delivery vehicle for a wide variety of nutrients.
Schmitz says the biggest hurdle the industry currently faces is figuring out a way to supplement foods with much-needed nutrients while preserving the original taste. One successful example is milk that’s been fortified with vitamin D, which could theoretically be used to make the cheese on your pizza a bit more beneficial. However, anyone who’s had pizza made with whole wheat dough knows there’s a reason it hasn’t become the default flour of choice. The key is figuring out a way to successfully balance nutrition and flavor, which is easier said than done.
I’m just glad there’s someone out there who’s made it their mission to solve this problem and usher in a new era of superfoods. It might be a while until we reach a point where pizza is officially good for you, but in the meantime, I’ll just keep telling myself that it is.